"Home is not a place, but the people you love." - Yara Zgheib, author of No Land to Light On
No Land to Light On by Yara Zgheib is very emotional, and hearing the author discuss her novel with readers made me appreciate it so much more. Thank you to @kellyhook.readsbooks and @beachesbooksnbubbles for hosting a conversation with Ms. Zgheib; a recording is available at https://tinyurl.com/3b6nbvyv
The story centers around Sama and Hadi who came to the US from Syria under very different circumstances. They meet, fall in love, and create a life together. When his father dies suddenly in Jordan, Hadi flies back for the funeral, planning to return to Sama, who is five months pregnant, in a few days. However, on the very day Hadi is to return, the US President signs an executive order preventing Syrian nationals from entering the country.
Interspersed with their story, told in spare yet lyrical prose, are brief interludes describing the migratory behaviors of birds. These allude to Sama's field of graduate study, provide an allegory for her and Hadi's actions, and provide a welcome respite from the heavy sadness of the plot.
Through the author discussion, I learned that this novel is strongly autobiographical; Ms. Zgheib and her husband were forced apart by a different set of political circumstances while their twins were born prematurely and in the NICU for an extended period of time. As a result, they lost everything, their home, their jobs, their money, and were forced to live outside the US for a year. She wrote this book three times, first as her diary, then as a novel filled with anger and frustration, and then as the book that was published in January 2022.
Reading this story at the same time our family experienced a difficult time and while political tensions escalated in Ukraine was a study in contrasts: fact vs. fiction and local vs. global focus.
Many thanks to Atria Books for the review copy of this novel, to Kelly and Ivana for hosting an outstanding author discussion, and to Yara Zgheib for sharing her deeply personal experiences.
No Land to Light On by Yara Zgheib is very emotional, and hearing the author discuss her novel with readers made me appreciate it so much more. Thank you to @kellyhook.readsbooks and @beachesbooksnbubbles for hosting a conversation with Ms. Zgheib; a recording is available at https://tinyurl.com/3b6nbvyv
The story centers around Sama and Hadi who came to the US from Syria under very different circumstances. They meet, fall in love, and create a life together. When his father dies suddenly in Jordan, Hadi flies back for the funeral, planning to return to Sama, who is five months pregnant, in a few days. However, on the very day Hadi is to return, the US President signs an executive order preventing Syrian nationals from entering the country.
Interspersed with their story, told in spare yet lyrical prose, are brief interludes describing the migratory behaviors of birds. These allude to Sama's field of graduate study, provide an allegory for her and Hadi's actions, and provide a welcome respite from the heavy sadness of the plot.
Through the author discussion, I learned that this novel is strongly autobiographical; Ms. Zgheib and her husband were forced apart by a different set of political circumstances while their twins were born prematurely and in the NICU for an extended period of time. As a result, they lost everything, their home, their jobs, their money, and were forced to live outside the US for a year. She wrote this book three times, first as her diary, then as a novel filled with anger and frustration, and then as the book that was published in January 2022.
Reading this story at the same time our family experienced a difficult time and while political tensions escalated in Ukraine was a study in contrasts: fact vs. fiction and local vs. global focus.
Many thanks to Atria Books for the review copy of this novel, to Kelly and Ivana for hosting an outstanding author discussion, and to Yara Zgheib for sharing her deeply personal experiences.
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